


Collecting Stars

by TooMuchTimeinSpace



Series: Days Gone By [1]
Category: Ghost (Sweden Band)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Child Neglect, Family Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Fic, Made up first names, Past Child Abuse, Protective Older Brothers, nihil's lackluster parenting, papa i being a good bro who raises his siblings and their friends because someone has to, seriously dude the typewriter was trying to tell you something
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:21:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24759973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TooMuchTimeinSpace/pseuds/TooMuchTimeinSpace
Summary: Long before he ever ascended to the papacy, Emeritus I took on the responsibility of raising his younger brothers when it seemed no one else would. Then, with his brother's friend almost always around, he becomes partly responsible for raising one of the church's youngest members as well.Or the three instances that Papa I acquired a child.
Series: Days Gone By [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1790605
Comments: 8
Kudos: 24





	Collecting Stars

The first time that Emilio, the future Emeritus I, acquired a child he was only thirteen, and he was pretty sure that wasn’t even legal.

He had been sitting at the desk in his bedroom, working on translating some old ritual texts his tutor had assigned that day to be returned completed the next, when he was distracted by the main door of the grand papal apartments, that he and his father inhabited, being slammed open and closed. Moments later, his bedroom door was flung open and his father hurriedly stepped into the room. He held a small bundle of cloth and practically thrust it into the arms of his son, who almost dropped it in shock. Emilio quickly realized that it was not just a bundle of cloth but was, in fact, an infant as it let out an angered cry at being jostled around.

“Father?” He questioned, glancing between his father and the baby with clear confusion.

“This is your little brother, Giovanni,” his father said with a smile that was just a little too cheery and it quickly began to falter, “I need you to watch him for a little bit, I’ve got to … take care of a couple of things first.” He finished with a wince and glanced towards the living room. Emilio followed his gaze and noticed the fuming Sister Imperator that stood there. He certainly did not envy his father that conversation, but he also felt panic rising.

“Watch him? But I don’t know how to care for a baby.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not that difficult, and I’ll be back soon anyway.” His father gave a reassuring smile before he left the room. Emilio could hear his father trying to sweet talk Sister as he approached, in the hopes of avoiding her wrath. She of course did not fall for this tactic and soon began berating him; any attempt at a conversation quickly devolving into an argument.

Emilio grimaced, not wanting to hear his father’s arguments with his lover. He was also pretty sure that you weren’t supposed to yell around babies because they would start crying or something, and Giovanni looked pretty close to starting which Emilio desperately wanted to avoid. 

Luckily, father and Sister soon left the apartment, and the sound of their argument grew fainter as they walked away. That at least was one disaster diverted but the major crisis remained. What was he supposed to do with a baby?

For a long moment he just stared at his little brother, completely at a loss, and the infant met Emilio’s mismatched gaze with his own. He still looked quite unhappy, and soon began to fuss, and kick his little feet as best he could with the blankets swaddled around him. Emilio quickly tried to shush him but that didn’t seem to help much, or maybe even made it worse, as soon Giovanni was crying.

In a panic, Emilio jumped from his desk chair and rushed out of the apartment to find a Sibling of Sin to help him stop his brother’s crying. He ran down the stone hallway before slowing down abruptly as he rethought running with an infant - he would never forgive himself if he tripped and hurt his baby brother. So, he began to walk slowly and carefully and when he reached the stone staircase, he went down the stairs with the utmost caution, descending to the lower levels of the church where it would be most likely for him to find a Sibling of Sin than in the upper levels where the offices and apartments of the higher clergy were kept. 

Once he had reached the appropriate floor, it did not take long for him to run into some Sisters, who cooed over the infant he held and were quick to offer their assistance with the child.

In no time at all they had gotten Giovanni to stop crying and had led the way to the church’s nursery – which Emilio had only visited maybe once previously – and soon a whole group of Sisters was exclaiming how cute the newest heir was and fawning over him. They were extremely helpful though, as they showed Emilio how to hold the infant correctly, how to prepare baby formula, and how to change a diaper; the basics that he would need until his father returned to care for Giovanni, and for when he was left alone with the babe like he had been that afternoon. 

The sisters also gave him some supplies from the nursery’s stock, that would tide them over for the next few days until someone could be sent to the store to get all the items they would need to care for the infant, which they also provided a list for. So, with things mostly sorted out, Emilio returned to the papal apartments with his now peacefully napping little brother.

Though Emilio managed to care for his brother through the evening, he was still waiting for their father to return. But when he was later woken up by crying for the fifth or maybe even sixth time that night – he’d lost count - and glanced at the clock to see it going on four in the morning, Emilio realized that father wasn’t coming back that night. A flare of anger burned through him at the thought but was quickly followed by a cold, hollow feeling of acceptance.

It had become increasingly common that Emilio would spend several consecutive nights alone in the apartments, as his father was off with Sister Imperator, and while Emilio didn’t want to hate her, it was hard to ignore the fact that his father’s growing disinterest in his life coincided with his meeting of Sister and had only gotten worse over the years. However, it was not just Emilio now, there was Giovanni as well, who was only an infant and yet their father already seemed uninterested. The anger came back on behalf of his little brother, who would get less of his father’s attention than Emilio himself had.

But as quick as that anger came, it was followed by a fierce determination as Emilio promised himself that he would always pay attention to Giovanni so that hopefully his little brother would never feel the loneliness and abandonment that he had. That he would always feel like at least one person cared for him. Emilio would make sure of this.

With this promise and determination in mind, he went to comfort Giovanni and try to lull him back to sleep for at least a few more hours. “It’s alright,” he muttered, “you’ll always have me.” 

\-------

The second time Emilio acquired a child it is once again the fault of his father, but at least with the passage of nine years, he was no longer a child himself. 

He was making a quick dinner in the kitchen of the apartment – his own that was a floor below and in a different wing than the papal apartment which he had moved out of shortly after his seventeenth birthday, bringing Giovanni with him – when there was a somewhat frantic knock on the door. Emilio sighed as he went to answer it, having expected to be left alone for at least a few hours to relax before he was due at black mass. When he opened the door, it was to find his father, looking somewhat angry and holding a cloth bundle, the sight of which immediately made Emilio’s stomach drop. But he accepted it of course as his father carefully handed it over – much more carefully than the first time - and sure enough, it was another baby.

Father didn’t even attempt to smile this time as he introduced the newest member of the family to his eldest son, “this is your brother, Valentino, his mother just dropped him off.” This caused even more dread to claw at Emilio as he wondered what circumstances surrounding the arrival of the infant had caused their father to appear so unhappy. Or maybe father was just that angry to have another son, and at that thought, a fierce protectiveness swept over the eldest son for the younger. At least Sister Imperator wasn’t around to be furious this time, he mused.

Father opened and closed his mouth multiple times in an attempt to say something, but all he ended up getting out was “take care of him” before he walked away again. Emilio couldn’t help the scoff that left his lips, because of course, he would care for his brother since their father clearly wouldn’t.

He shut the door and leaned heavily against it for a moment, muttering a quick prayer under his breath as he closed his eyes. Once he had composed himself he shifted Valentino, who had yet to make a sound or move – which worried him somewhat - so that he could hold him in one arm and use the other to pull the blankets from his face to get a better look at him. Valentino appeared to be older than Giovanni was when he had first arrived at the church, but he was such a tiny thing that Emilio wasn’t truly able to conclude anything on the matter. However, what immediately drew Emilio’s attention was the bruising on the left side of the child’s face. Specifically concentrated around his white eye.

Emilio cursed in Italian then, as he started to draw conclusions as to what had happened, and he understood his father’s anger – at least he’d been decent enough to be angry even if he had just basically abandoned another son. Emilio wished his father could have at least said something about it though before he had to find out for himself, and as soon as he was able, he was going to demand more of an explanation.

Too late he realized that he should have hidden his anger better, as the babe noticed his mood and started to make frightened little whimpers. He cursed his mistake in his head as he quickly tried to soothe the younger, trying to prove that he wouldn’t hurt him like whoever he’d been stuck with before. It took him a couple of minutes to calm down the infant, who at least stopped whimpering but still had a much too wary look on his face for someone so young. It was also by this time that Giovanni finally came out of his room to investigate.

“Who was at the door, Emilio?”

“Father,” the elder couldn’t help but sigh before trying to force more cheer into his voice, “but come and meet our new little brother, Valentino.” Giovanni’s interest was piqued, and he ran over to the eldest’s side to meet his new little brother before Emilio could get the chance to warn him. He knew Giovanni noticed the bruises immediately as he felt his brother stiffen beside him, and his heart broke further.

“Who did that to him?”

“I am not certain, but please try not to seem angry, you’ll frighten him,” Emilio said as he pulled Valentino even closer to his chest in the hopes that he wouldn’t notice Giovanni’s anger and become frightened again. He saw the stricken look on the now middle brother’s face, but he could tell that he was taking deep breaths to calm himself down. Once Giovanni had succeeded in getting his emotions back under control, Emilio held out Valentino to him. “Do you want to try holding him?”

The younger hesitated for a moment before agreeing and Emilio handed him the baby, adjusting his hold so that he was doing it correctly. The two younger brothers stared at each other for a long moment before the babe finally smiled and made a small noise. Giovanni couldn’t help the smile on his face, as he tried to casually comment, “he’s cute, I guess.”

Emilio smiled as well. “He is. Now, will you be alright for a moment while I go find a ghoul to inform everyone that I won’t be able to make it to black mass tonight?” Once Giovanni confirmed that he would be fine watching Valentino alone for a few minutes, Emilio left the room, muttering the whole way about the supplies they would need to get from the nursery for the night and what they’d later have to get from the store.

The door soon closed behind the eldest brother as Giovanni once again looked down at the youngest. “Don’t worry fratellino,” he assured, “we won’t let anyone hurt you again.”

\--------

The third time Emilio acquired a child, he was just thankful it wasn’t his father’s fault for once – and really it was the fault of his youngest brother - but to be fair the job of raising the kid didn’t fall solely on him this time either.

Emilio had finally returned from his office for the day, and upon entering the apartment he had heard Valentino loudly and animatedly explaining something to somebody. Somebody being the operative word as he could see Giovanni sitting on the couch in the living room area, practically trying to bury himself in the cushions with a magazine as he tried to ignore the four-year old’s rambling.

So, he went over to the couch and stole one of the younger’s pillows to gain his attention which earned him an indignant grunt, but Giovanni’s annoyance melted away somewhat as he saw that it was his elder brother and not the younger messing with him. “Oh, you’re back,” was his somewhat lacking greeting, “how was your day?”

“It was fine. Who’s Valentino talking to?” He got straight to the point, and Giovanni’s annoyance returned at the mention of the talking still in the background.

“I took him to the gardens this afternoon after we finished our studies, and there were Sisters of Sin out there with some kids from the orphanage. Tino started playing with one of the kids and when it was time for them to go, Tino asked the Sisters to let the kid come back with us so they could play more, and you know the Sisters. They think Tino’s the most adorable thing ever and can’t say no to him.” Giovanni rolled his eyes, “anyway, the kid has been over for the past couple hours, and I don’t think Tino has shut up since.”

Emilio nodded at the explanation and dropped the pillow back onto Giovanni’s head who grumbled a little before returning to his magazine. Emilio then went over to peak into Valentino’s room.

Sure enough, a boy younger than his brother was sitting on the floor just listening as Valentino stood in front of him and was excitedly talking about…. piano lessons? That at least seemed to be the current topic and while the kid didn’t seem to be able to get a word in edgewise, he seemed content with that. 

He quietly left the two boys to their fun and went to attend to other matters, and a little while later a Sister came by to collect the young boy. Which of course had upset Valentino, who wanted the boy to stay longer, but he had been mollified by the promise that they could play again tomorrow.

As the brother’s sat down to dinner that night, all Valentino could talk about was his new friend, Niccolo Copia, and Emilio was just glad his youngest brother had made a friend. Giovanni of course had no such relief and soon snapped at the younger to “shut up” which quickly started an argument between them. Emilio just sighed as he continued with his dinner.

After that day, Niccolo came over so often that Emilio started to feel like he was basically raising the kid as well. At least at the end of the day, Niccolo did return to his own room. Except for those times he stayed the night with them which also attributed to the above-mentioned problem of the kid practically always being around. It was fine, however. Emilio could raise three boys. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my first ever Ghost story, I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
